It all started with a little girl and an upcoming summer break without any books. Melaney Smith, an Athens resident, could not rest until this problem was resolved.

From the help of her family, friends and outreach in the community, Smith not only helped the little girl but she collected enough books to give to every student in Alps Road Elementary School.

“To hear a child say ‘I wish I had something to read’ is what really made me stop and think, it would be easy to solve this problem,” said Smith, who has now an even bigger challenge to fulfill. From Oct. 1- 31, Smith’s initiative, Books for Keeps, partnered with Whatever It Takes, will host a community wide book drive in Athens to collect books for students in grades K-12. The books are coming in stacks from Arizona to England, reaching an inventory of over 3000.

The goal is to supply at least three books to every student in the Clarke County School District and cut back on the effects of what researchers are calling, “summer slide.”

Statistics show that low-income children who go into their summer break with no access to reading material fall three months behind in school, according to University of Tennessee researchers. “There’s so many statistics out there,” Smith stated, “For me, it comes down to that one little girl that I met and I won’t be able to forget.”

As October looms, Smith doesn’t have to meet in parking lots to get books anymore. She finalized drop off locations in the neighborhood including the Athens Banner Herald, City Salon & Spa and Classic City Orthodontics, but that is only the beginning.

With the project growing at full speed and books such as Captain Underpants and Junie B. Jones piling in her Athens home space, Smith reaches out for volunteer help.

From help with book sorting to sending out a small Facebook message to friends, every little bit will make a big difference in Smith’s eyes.

“It’s not world peace, it’s not revolutionizing education, said Smith. “But it’s helping one little girl and her classmates and that’s all the motivation that I need.”

For more information on volunteer help and the book drive updates, visit: http:// booksforkeeps.blogspot.com. For studies on “summer slide,” visit: http://www.utk.edu/tntoday/2010/07/21/ut-experts-summer- reading/

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